So, Evergrey are currently doing release party gigs for their new album at different places in Sweden. Yesterday the time had come for the band to visit their hometown, Gothenburg. The gig took place at a club called Sticky Fingers and just like the other release party gigs it was all acoustic. Being a long-time fan, since the release of ISOT, I've seen the band perform quite a few times and I wasn't going to pass this opportunity up.
I was going to go with six friends, but one of them unfortunately had to cancel just hours before. I almost had to cancel as well, due to suffering from one of the migraine attacks I've had lately. Fortunately, getting some sleep during the day and drinking a few glasses of scotch made the headache go from splitting to tolerable. So, the six of us arrived at the club at eight o'clock and got our limited edition copy of "Glorious Collision" at the entrance. That's right, the album was included in the ticket price! What's even better was that the price of the ticket was about the same as what the CD costs if you buy it in a store, so the concert was basically free.
The club has three floors and the band played at the bar stage on the middle floor. Being a pretty small floor, you got this intimate feeling, since no matter where you were standing you were close to the band. Me and a few of my buddies were around 10 meters away from the stage. The floor wasn't too crowded so I could just relax against the concrete pillar behind me and enjoy the music.
Right, the music! The band went on around half past eight and they seemed to be in a very good mood. Tom was joking around and they all seemed to have a good time. They had put together some beautiful acoustic versions of a bunch of their songs. They only played two or three songs from their latest album, which was fine by me, since I haven't had time to acquaint myself much with it yet. The version of "Wrong" that they did was absolutely fantastic, though. Here's a list of most of the songs that they played (in no particular order):
As I Lie Here Bleeding
Blinded
Recreation Day
I'm Sorry
Torn
A Touch Of Blessing
Wasted Years (Iron Maiden cover)
Soaked
Wrong
Frozen
It was awesome to hear the band in an acoustic concert, because as you all know they have some very strong material that is well suited for intimate acoustic treatment. Interestingly, about 15 minutes after the band had went on, all remaining traces of my migraine were completely gone. That's the healing power of Evergrey! This was one of the best shows I've seen with the band, actually one of the best shows I've seen with any band. However, as you probably know, it's pretty hard to describe a concert in words, so I'll treat you to something better. I had my phone with me and decided to record the complete performance of "Recreation Day". Turns out the iPhone 4 is pretty good at recording, even in situations like this, so the result is actually quite good. Enjoy (and make sure you watch it in 720p and full screen)!
The story doesn't end here, though! Once the band had finished the show, they remained in the club and mingled around among the fans. I had been stupid enough to put my album copy in my jacket before I handed it in at the closet. My female friend had hers in her hand bag, though, so me and her went around the club and shook the hands of each of the band members and kindly asked them to sign her record. They were all very nice and took the time to chat a little and of course signed the album.
Once we had talked to all band members except Rikard, my female friend had realized that we had forgotten to ask for an extra album copy for our absent friend when we entered the club. Since he had paid for a ticket, he should obviously at least get his album even if he couldn't attend the show. We went over to the girl standing by the counter at the entrance, but she told us that they had already handed the remaining albums back to the band and that we'd have to ask them directly. Since we had yet to find Rikard, we said "What the hell, let's ask him even if it feels a little bit awkward!". After a few minutes, we saw him and a few others (one of them being Jonas Ekdahl!) by the stage. We went over and thanked Rikard for a great show and asked him to sign the album. After he had done so, I told him about my friend that couldn't attend but had bought a ticket and asked if he could get me an extra album to give to him. The response? "Sure, will you wait here?"
So, off he went to look for the album stash.
So, we stood there waiting for him to come back. Five minutes went by, then ten minutes. By then, we were feeling even more awkward, since we could imagine Rikard running around all over the place just to get this dude he had never met an album... Then finally, after around fifteen minutes, he came up the stairs from the bottom floor with an album in his hands! I thanked him sincerely, but I didn't ask him to sign it. That would just be pushing it.
Rikard, if you read this: You're awesome and you made my friend really happy!
Finally, here it is: The pen that was used by all band members, the unused ticket and the album that Rikard went to find (God knows where!). Hope you enjoyed this story and... Stay Grey!
I was going to go with six friends, but one of them unfortunately had to cancel just hours before. I almost had to cancel as well, due to suffering from one of the migraine attacks I've had lately. Fortunately, getting some sleep during the day and drinking a few glasses of scotch made the headache go from splitting to tolerable. So, the six of us arrived at the club at eight o'clock and got our limited edition copy of "Glorious Collision" at the entrance. That's right, the album was included in the ticket price! What's even better was that the price of the ticket was about the same as what the CD costs if you buy it in a store, so the concert was basically free.
The club has three floors and the band played at the bar stage on the middle floor. Being a pretty small floor, you got this intimate feeling, since no matter where you were standing you were close to the band. Me and a few of my buddies were around 10 meters away from the stage. The floor wasn't too crowded so I could just relax against the concrete pillar behind me and enjoy the music.
Right, the music! The band went on around half past eight and they seemed to be in a very good mood. Tom was joking around and they all seemed to have a good time. They had put together some beautiful acoustic versions of a bunch of their songs. They only played two or three songs from their latest album, which was fine by me, since I haven't had time to acquaint myself much with it yet. The version of "Wrong" that they did was absolutely fantastic, though. Here's a list of most of the songs that they played (in no particular order):
As I Lie Here Bleeding
Blinded
Recreation Day
I'm Sorry
Torn
A Touch Of Blessing
Wasted Years (Iron Maiden cover)
Soaked
Wrong
Frozen
It was awesome to hear the band in an acoustic concert, because as you all know they have some very strong material that is well suited for intimate acoustic treatment. Interestingly, about 15 minutes after the band had went on, all remaining traces of my migraine were completely gone. That's the healing power of Evergrey! This was one of the best shows I've seen with the band, actually one of the best shows I've seen with any band. However, as you probably know, it's pretty hard to describe a concert in words, so I'll treat you to something better. I had my phone with me and decided to record the complete performance of "Recreation Day". Turns out the iPhone 4 is pretty good at recording, even in situations like this, so the result is actually quite good. Enjoy (and make sure you watch it in 720p and full screen)!
The story doesn't end here, though! Once the band had finished the show, they remained in the club and mingled around among the fans. I had been stupid enough to put my album copy in my jacket before I handed it in at the closet. My female friend had hers in her hand bag, though, so me and her went around the club and shook the hands of each of the band members and kindly asked them to sign her record. They were all very nice and took the time to chat a little and of course signed the album.
Once we had talked to all band members except Rikard, my female friend had realized that we had forgotten to ask for an extra album copy for our absent friend when we entered the club. Since he had paid for a ticket, he should obviously at least get his album even if he couldn't attend the show. We went over to the girl standing by the counter at the entrance, but she told us that they had already handed the remaining albums back to the band and that we'd have to ask them directly. Since we had yet to find Rikard, we said "What the hell, let's ask him even if it feels a little bit awkward!". After a few minutes, we saw him and a few others (one of them being Jonas Ekdahl!) by the stage. We went over and thanked Rikard for a great show and asked him to sign the album. After he had done so, I told him about my friend that couldn't attend but had bought a ticket and asked if he could get me an extra album to give to him. The response? "Sure, will you wait here?"
So, off he went to look for the album stash.So, we stood there waiting for him to come back. Five minutes went by, then ten minutes. By then, we were feeling even more awkward, since we could imagine Rikard running around all over the place just to get this dude he had never met an album... Then finally, after around fifteen minutes, he came up the stairs from the bottom floor with an album in his hands! I thanked him sincerely, but I didn't ask him to sign it. That would just be pushing it.
Rikard, if you read this: You're awesome and you made my friend really happy!Finally, here it is: The pen that was used by all band members, the unused ticket and the album that Rikard went to find (God knows where!). Hope you enjoyed this story and... Stay Grey!
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